How tragic Indiana mom suffered one in 50,000 freak injury that can be caused ... trends now
An Indiana mother who mysteriously died on her flight home from the Dominican Republic suffered a carotid artery tear, her family has revealed.
Stefanie Smith, 41, was killed in a 'truly a tragic medical event', her brother Chris Volz said, adding that the autopsy results did not suggest any foul play.
The injury occurs when an artery in the side of the neck tears and stops blood from reaching the brain - causing neurons to stop working and die.
The condition is rare, occurring in only one in 50,000 people, and can be caused by something as innocuous as forcefully coughing, blowing your nose, straining your neck, bad posture and airplane turbulence.
But most are caused by a traumatic injury like high-speed car or sporting accidents, which physically rip the arteries.
Stefanie Smith, 41, was just minutes into the American Airlines flight home from the Dominican Republic when she became fatally ill from an unknown cause on February 28
Smith is pictured with her two children. The late mom's cause of death has now been revealed by her brother
The tear allows blood to get in between the layers of the artery wall and separate them. This causes the artery wall to bulge, which can slow or stop blood flow to the brain. This can lead to a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke
In many cases, carotid dissection can happen suddenly without a known cause, called spontaneous carotid artery dissection.
The tear allows blood to get in between the layers of the artery wall and separate them. This causes the artery wall to bulge, which can slow or stop blood flow.
It can also cause issues by pressing on nearby structures such as nerves.
The tear may prompt the body's clotting system. A clot may block blood flow at the site of the tear, or pieces of the clot may break off and block the flow in smaller branches of the artery.
Blocked or decreased blood flow can cause a stroke by starving the brain of blood and oxygen. A blood vessel that supplies the brain rupturing and bleeding can also lead to a stroke.
Carotid dissections can occur at any age, but is more common in people in their 40s and 50s and is a common cause of stroke in people under the age of 50, possibly because younger people perform more activities that could lead to a dissection.
It is slightly more common in men than in women.
